Stephen King in maximalist mode. Messy, excessive, occasionally indulgent — and hard to replace once you’re inside it.

A plague wipes out most of humanity, and what follows is less a disaster novel than a long (so long) argument about power, faith, community, and what people rebuild when the rules disappear. The Stand sprawls on purpose — across America, across moral positions, across dozens of characters — and trusts the reader to keep up.

If it takes you less than half your life, you've certainly beaten me. Clocked more hours on this than Baldur's Gate 3.